Disney+’s ‘Luca’ family fun for water and land

By Matt Pascarella

Disney/Pixar has done it again. “Luca” is an underwater adventure that takes you to the surface with two friends who discover that taking a chance is worth it in the long run. When sea monsters Luca and Alberto risk being discovered when they take a trip to Human Town, also known as Portorosso, they meet Giulia and the three show each other friendship comes in all shapes, sizes and species.

When Luca and Alberto are away from water, they become human – they only turn into sea monsters if they get wet. The three team up to win the Portorosso Race, a traditional Italian triathlon consisting of swimming, bike riding and eating pasta. Winning won’t be easy as Ercole Visconti has won six years in a row.

Available on Disney+ and stars Jacob Tremblay, Jack Dylan Grazer, Emma Berman, Maya Rudolph, Jim Gaffigan, Saverio Raimondo, Sandy Martin and Sasha Baron Cohen.

In the town of Portorosso on the Italian Riveria, many of its residents have heard lore of seas monsters inhabiting the water. Two fishermen sit in a boat, and one asks the other if they really need to fish near the island.

“What if the stories are true?” he says.

The other fisherman tells him those are just stories to keep them from getting a really good fishing spot. They throw their net and all of a sudden, they catch something. They see a fin and then a tail. There is a sea monster caught in the net. He breaks free, but many items from the boat fall to the bottom of the sea.

Luca (Tremblay) finds an alarm clock and a playing card. He fears land monsters (humans) when he sees the underside of a boat. Luca quickly daydreams of going above the water. Luca’s mother (Rudolph) has instilled quite a fear in him to stay away from land monsters.

“We do not talk, think, discuss or go anywhere near the surface,” she tells him.

Luca wonders what lies above the water’s edge.

His wonder overpowers his fear when he meets Alberto (Grazer) who shows Luca there is a lot of life above the surface. Alberto introduces him to the Vespa and Luca is instantly hooked to life on land.

When they travel to Portorosso and meet Giulia (Berman), the three decide to enter a triathlon and aim to beat town bully and reigning champ, Ercole (Raimondo).

Along the way, it gets harder and harder for Luca and Alberto to hide the fact that they are sea monsters.

Meanwhile, Luca’s parents have entered Portorosso to bring him back to live with his uncle (Cohen).

This movie is filled with optimism. Luca is very timid and afraid to try new things, and his friend Alberto tells him you can silence that voice in your head – a Bruno – that tells you you can’t do stuff by simply saying “silenzio Bruno!”

“Luca” stresses the themes of friendship, family, trust and conquering fear. Sometimes you just need a little push. A fin and a thumb up!

Available to watch on Disney+. <